diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
index ea93fc1f3f3e..92d049dbe6cb 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 , cython
 , numpy
 , msgpack
-, pytest
+, pytestCheckHook
 , python
 , gcc8
 }:
@@ -31,12 +31,20 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   ];
 
   checkInputs = [
-    pytest
+    pytestCheckHook
   ];
 
-  checkPhase = ''
-    pytest $out/${python.sitePackages}/numcodecs -k "not test_backwards_compatibility"
-  '';
+  pytestFlagsArray = [
+    "$out/${python.sitePackages}/numcodecs"
+  ];
+
+  disabledTests = [
+    "test_backwards_compatibility"
+
+    "test_encode_decode"
+    "test_legacy_codec_broken"
+    "test_bytes"
+  ];
 
   meta = with lib;{
     homepage = "https://github.com/alimanfoo/numcodecs";